John t



(No Model.)

J. T. MERRILL.

BALANGBD VALVE.

Patented Jan. 18, 188?.

. UNTTED STATES PATENT @Trium JOHN T. MERRILL, OF MOUNT AYR, IOVA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THlRDS TO GEORGE S. ALLYN AND JOHN O. FRY, BOTH OF SAME PLAGE.

BALANCED VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part caf-Letters Patent No. 356,148, dated January 18, 1.587. v

Application filed October 6, 1886. Serial No. 215,488.

To @ZZ whom/.it may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. MERRILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Ayr, in the county of Ringgold and vState of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Balanced Valves for Locomotives and other SteamFngines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates tol improvements in 1o balanced valves; and it consists of the peculiar combination of devices and novel coustruction and arrangement of the various parts for service, substantially ,as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the I5 claims.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide improved means which can be readily and easily adapted to the ordinary construction of locomotivevalves of the ob- 2o long slide-valve class.

A further object of my invention is to provide a balanced valve upon which the steam in the chest of the locomotiveor other engine is capable of exerting an upward or vcounter current in such a manner that the valve shall be evenly and accurately balanced, so that it can be moved or reeiprocated with great ease.

A further object of my invention is to improve lthe valve in minor details, so that it 3o shall possess superior advantages over others which have preceded it in points of simplicity, strength, and durability of construction, effectiveness of operation, and eheapness of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a balanced slide-valve embodying my improvements, Figure l is a side elevation of the same in positionin a steam-chest of the engine or locomotive. Fig. 2 is a top plan View.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on the line x x of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a ver.- tical transverse sectional viewv on .the line y y of the same figure. Fig. 5 is a detached detail view of one of the disks or plates. Fig. 6

is a like view, partly broken away and in section, of the eXpansible ring.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the gures, A designates the ordinary 5o slide-valve that is extensively used in locomo- (No model.)

tiveengines and which is oblong in form. The

valve is provided with a flange or ledge, a, at its lower edge, and the back a thereof is raised or extended upwardlyslightly for the purpose of receiving myimproved appliances for counteracting the downward pressure 'of the steam upon the valve. A yoke, B, of the ordinary common pattern, is fitted around the back of the valve, and this yoke rests upon the'ledge or ange a of the valve, as is usual. 6o

C designates a disk. which is rigidly affixed to the upper side of the back a of the slidevalve A, and the edges of this disk or plate are extended beyond the side edges of the valve, as shown, so that a portion of thelower i5' side of the disk is eggposcd to adapt the steam in the chest to press upwardly upon the disk, this counter-pressure of the steam serving to evenly and perfectly balance the valve, so that it can be moved with the greatest ease in the 7o chest. The disk is provided on its underside with depending iianges c, which`bear or iinpinge against the upper sides of the valve, and thus prevent lateral displacement of the disk on the valve, and the disk is more securely connected to the valve by means of screws c', which pass through suitable openings in the disk and are screwed into suitable threaded sockets in the back c of the valve.

The upper surface of the disk or plate O is 8o provided with channels or grooves d, which are arranged at right angles to each other. These grooves intersect or cross one another at the center of the disk, and they are arranged in such a position on the disk or plate that their outer terminal ends are equidistant at the side edges of the back a of the valve, as clearly shown.

E designates a series of springs, which are preferably fiat, as shown. These springs are 9o arranged in the radial grooves or channels of the disk or plate C, which, for the sake of convenience,l will hereinafter term the pressure plate.77 The inner ends ofthe springs are arranged near the point of intersection of the radial grooves or channels, but the said ends of the springs are out of contact with each other. The springs are rigidly secured or affixed at their inner terminal ends to the fixed pressure-plate C by means of vertical screws, roo

Athus Yimlependeutly securing the said springs in place, and the outer or free ends of the springs extend or project beyond the periphery ofthe fixed pressure disk ork plateG, the said outer ends of the springs being slightly curved or bent, as at e, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

At the point of intersection of the radial grooves of the fixed pressure disk or plate C is located a vertical post or stud, F, which'is rigidly txed in the center of the pressure-disk and theback of the slide-valve A. This central post is extended above the pressure-disk and is extcriorly screw-threaded, and the upper end of the post passes through a central aperture, g, formed in the re-enforcing plate Gr, which is fitted upon the pressure-disk. This re-ent'orcing plate or dis`k is of substantially the same shape and size of the pressureplate, and it is rigidly connected or held upon the pressure-disk by means of a burr or nut, g', which is screwed upon the upper extremity of the threaded' post and impinges upon the reenforcing plate or disk.

The rad-ia] grooves or channelsin the press ure-plate are gradually deepened toward the periphery o'f the disk, and the inner ends of the springs are thereby elevated above the outer terminal ends of the same. 'The springs are first tempered and adjusted before being applied to the pressure-disk, and they are free to move or play verticallyin the outer deeper portions of the grooves or channels. The reenforcing plate is pressed firmly down upon the pressure-disk by the nut or burr impinging upon the upper side thereof, and this said plate bears upon the inner ends of the springs at the points Where they are connected to the pressure-disk, so that the said inner ends of the springs are more securely and firmly held upon the pressuredisk, while the necessary movement or play is permitted to the outer free ends of the same, as will be very readily understood.

The re-enforcing plate is provided on its upper side with an integral boss or stud, g2, which has a central cavity or depression, g, in which is located or arranged the burr or nut g, that forces the said plate upon the pressureplate, the said nut being Wholly concealed Within the cavity of the boss.

A ring or annulus, H, is fitted around the periphery of the re-enforcing plate and rests upon the outer bent or curved ends of the springs, by which the said ring is normally pressed or forced upwardly. This ring or annulus is divided, and in one of the ends thereof is fitted an inclined plate or link, h, which is rigidly secured in place by means of a transverse pin or other suitable means. The

' free end of the plate or link is extended beyond the end ot' the ring to which it is connected, and Works or plays in an inclined slot, h', that is Vformed in the other end of the ring orannulus. By meansof this connectinglink being rigidlysecured to one end of the ring or annulus and working in a slot in the opposite end, the ring or annulus is free to expand and contract under varying degrees of temperature ofthe valve, and the ends thereofare connected and kept in line with each other.

I designates a friction-plate, which is provided with a central opening, t', through which passes the central boss or stud of the re-enforcing plate. This friction-plate rests upon the expansion-ring, and is elevated by the latter into con tact with the inner side of the cover or roof of the steam-chest of the engine. friction-plate'also rests upon the re-enforcing plate, and is connected thereto byadowel-pin, j, so as to prevent displacement ofthe frictionplate from the valve during the strokes thereof.

By means of the hereinbeforedescribed construction I provide a valve which presents a surface upon which an upward pressure is exerted by the steam of the chest, which counteracts the enormous downward pressure of the steam, and thereby perfectly balances the valve so that it can be reciprocated or moved very easily and freely.

The invention is especially designed to be applied to locomotive-valves of the oblong class, for which purpose I have found it very efficient; but it can be applied to any common form of slide-valve to balance the same.

The improvements 'are very simple and strong in construction and efficient and reliable in operation. They can be applied at a very small cost to the common form of valve, and render the same very much more efficient n operation.

I attach especialY importance to the fixed pressure-plate carrying the springs, the expansion-ring supported on the springs, and the frictionplate resting upon the rings, and forced thereby into contact with the roof or cover of The IOO

the stearnchest, as therein lies the gist of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the slide-valve, of the pressure-plate affixed thereto, the springs extending at their free ends beyond the plate or disk, the annulus or ring supported on the free ends of the springs, and the friction-plate resting on the annulus or ring. and pressed thereby into contact. with the cover of the steamchest, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the slide-valve, of the fixed pressure disk or plate, the re-enforcing plate secured upon the pressure-disk, the springs intermediate of the pressure and re-enforcing disks or plates and having their free ends extended beyond the peripheries of the same, the expansion ring or annulus fitted around the re-enforcing plate and resting upon the free ends of the springs, and the frictionplate, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth. 1

3. The combination, with the slide-valve, of the pressure plate or disk rigidly affixed thereto and having its edges or periphery extended IZO beyond the sides ofthe valve to provide a surface against which an upward pressure of steam can be exerted, the springs fixed to the pressure-plate and having their free ends arranged equidistant around the edges of the said plate, the re-enforcing plate rigidly secured to the pressure plate, the expansion ring tted around the reen forcing plate and resting upon the free ends of the springs, and the frictionplate, substantially as described, for the purexpansion-ring, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

v 5. The combination, with the slide-valve, of the pressure-plate rigidly affixed to the valve, the central-threaded stud affixed to the pressure-plate, the re-entoroing plate bearing upon the pressure-plate and having a central boss provided with a transverse opening through which the threaded ystud passes and a cavity 3o in its upper side, the nut fittted on the threaded stud and located in the cavity of the re-enforcing plate, the expansion-ring fitted around the rc-enforcing plate, and the friction-plate carried by the expansion-ring, substantially as 35 described, for the purpose set forth.-

6. The combination, with the slide-valve, of the Xed pressureeplate thereon, the reenforc ing plate,` the radial springs intermediate of the pressure and re-enforcing plates, the eX- 4o pansion-ring fitted around the re-enforcing plate and restingy upon the'freeV ends of the springs, the said ring being divided and having an inclined link affixed in one end and an inclined slot in which the free end of the link works, and the friction-plate carried by the expansion ring, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth. y

In testimony 'that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in 5o presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN T. MERRILL.

Vitn esses .JOHN H, ALLYN,

D. C. GURRIE. 

